


Like Water in My Lungs

by hannigramcracker



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Merman!Hannibal, fisherman!Will, hannigram AU, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-07 22:03:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1915500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannigramcracker/pseuds/hannigramcracker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will is a fisherman with an unstable past. </p><p>Hannibal is a merman with bad past experiences with fishermen, but harbors a burning curiosity. </p><p>When the two of them meet, both of their lives are changed forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first AU I have ever written, and I am very excited. I would like to give Madni on here a shoutout for betaing everything and validating me. 
> 
> Drowning is talked about a fair amount in this, so if that is going to bother you, tread lightly.

The salt filled air tickled Will’s curls. He braced himself against the side of the boat, leaning forward and breathing in through his nose. The air was clean, the water glistened as he glided over it, cool flecks spraying up into his face. He smiled. He loved being out here. Just him and the rest of the crew, this boat, the poles and buckets, and miles and miles of pristine, blue water. Nothing could be more peaceful, as far as Will was concerned.

It had been a few weeks since he had last come out, and he was glad to be back. His skin was losing it’s golden tan, and he hated staying on land for long periods of time. He’d always loved the water. His father used to joke with him and ask him where he was hiding his gills. Will laughed to himself at the memory. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, reveling in the promise that the air held for him - relaxation and fish, and certainly whiskey. The flask in his pocket promised that. He reached down a bit, trying to skim the water with his fingertips, yet knowing that the boat was far too high above the surface for that.

He had never been in the water out this deep, not really. Sure, he had slipped in a few times -  fallen, even - but never let himself slide into the icy cool depths. He had gone in after a pole or two, slid in to help net a big catch, but no matter how much he wanted, the rest of the crew would never let him satiate his desires. Deep within himself, he longed to feel more than just the gentle teasing kiss of the spray of water as he was sped through it. He longed to feel it’s rough and needy embrace - something like that of a lover that had been away for months on end. He wanted to memorize the way the salt would prick at his scalp as his hair grew wet and not just have to imagine it. He wanted to know what it would be to card and drag his fingers through the crystalline blue; what it would mean to disturb and upset the purity of the water for a moment - just a moment, until he became a part of it as well.

He imagined letting his arms slide above his head, and not having to concentrate on keeping them held up as he sank. The water would do that for him. It would take his breath, and take his words, and take his worries and his life away from him. The water would be what he always wanted it to be - nothing short of his everything.

Will wasn’t sure this was exactly what he wanted to happen. He never  _actively_  wanted to drown himself, but he always felt these thoughts creeping in on him. Unbidden, yes, but not necessarily unwelcome.

He almost jumped when he felt a hand ghost across his back; was almost certain his time was coming, that he was going to be pushed overboard and left to drift at sea. His eyes must have shown something because when Brian Zeller spoke, there was a slight air of apology to his words.

“Hey, sorry to startle you, man,” he said, clapping Will on the back more earnestly now that he had Will’s full attention. “I just wanted to say welcome back. We’ve missed you.”

Will smiled back at Brian. He had always very much enjoyed his company, and had certainly missed it during the time that he had been landlocked. The company he kept on land was nothing like the company he kept when on the water. The water knew him so well, that it was hard to keep his secrets from the rest of the people on the boat with him.

“Well, I’m glad to be back.” Will said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his flask. He twisted the cap off and offered it to Brian. Brian smiled, shaking his head and bringing his own flask from his pocket. He inclined his head and the bottle to Will before they each took a swig together. They fell silent, Will watching the waves curl and swell and fall onto one another as they battled for attention from the side of their boat. 

Soon, there was an arm around each of the men’s shoulders. When Will turned around he saw none other than Jimmy Price smiling back at them. “It’s good to see you, Will!”

Will smiled a crooked smile and accepted the hug that Jimmy offered. Jimmy was a very tactile person. On land, that would have made Will very uncomfortable, but here on this boat it brought him a sense of security he could not explain. “It’s good to be back.”

“I hope you’re feeling better now.” Jimmy said. He had a demeanor about him that made Will feel safe and looked after, almost like an older brother. And like an older brother, Jimmy was always able to make statements and ask questions that would have been offensive or off putting if they came from anyone else. Will smiled as Jimmy ruffled his hair.

“Yeah, you know I am feeling a lot better now.”

“Glad to hear that. You let me know if you need anything at all this weekend, Will.” Will nodded again as Jimmy released his hold on the younger man to adjust the hat on his head. “But for now, give me some of that whiskey. You think we’ll catch some big ones this weekend, boys?”

“We can only hope. I’m certainly ready. Do you know how far we’re going out this time?” Will asked, trying not to let the words come across as unsure. If he was being honest with himself, despite his fascination with the water, he was a bit worried about going very far out.

He knew that he wouldn’t be able to avoid the concerned sidelong glances, or small questions regarding his stability, for the whole weekend. He was glad that his crew knew about what had happened; it made him feel safer with them - like they would look after him if he needed it. But the memories and images of his last trip were still vivid and bright as the sunset at sea.

“Captain Jack says that we’re going to be dropping anchor soon.” Brian said, cutting into Will’s thoughts and shattering them. Will was thankful. “Let’s get ready!”

Will passed his flask over to Jimmy, who still held his empty hand out waiting for it. He took a few swigs and handed it back before paying attention to his poles. The three of them assembled their rods and nets and waited for the okay from their captain to cast their lines in.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a haze of sun and salt. Will loved every moment of it. There were plenty of nibbles and bites as well - enough to keep Will’s mind focused on the task at hand rather than letting it wander to darker thoughts. Thoughts as dark as the depths of the water that longed to claim Will as it’s own.

*

The water shifted above him, the movement always caught his eye. No one else really paid very much attention to the surface world, unless it was feeding time. It fascinated Hannibal to no end. He had no real desire to leave the water; he wasn’t one to entertain delusion in such a manner. There was just something terribly enticing about the way the sun played against his moist face when he broke the surface. It always felt so warm and he wanted to wrap himself up in that sensation. He imagined that it wouldn’t feel as good if he were to come into contact with it every day. It would lose some of it’s mystery; it wouldn’t be as enchanting.

Hannibal flexed his shoulders and allowed his head to fall back. He sighed, deeply and heavily, idly curling his fin in front of him. The glorious sun, distorted from the water, picked up in the scales of it and reflected honey gold with flecks of ruby red and burgundy fading in toward the frayed and elegantly falling edges of the bottom. The coloring made the red of his eyes dance, piercing and intense, a stare deeper than the body of water he lived in, sharper than the spears that many fishermen had tried to kill him with. The smaller fins on his forearms echoed the red hues in both his eyes and his larger fin.

Eyes still glued to the place where the sea met air, enthralled with the way the waves looked, cresting up and over each other from beneath. It brought him a sense of calm he could not explain. Nothing about the surface world  _should_  bring him calm, not with the past experiences he held with it. But something about two things merging together seamlessly resonated deeply within him. Absently, he touched his stomach just below his navel where flesh gave way to scales. He dragged his webbed fingers and clawed nails over the place where the two textures combined, relishing the smooth juxtaposed with the rough. He felt like a mirror of the surface and sea himself. Human above, sea creature below.

Hannibal was so lost in his thoughts that he hardly noticed Bedelia come up close to him until she was wrapping her silvery-green fin around his. He shifted his gaze to look at her.

“Come now, Hannibal. You’re not thinking about the surface world again, are you?” She asked him, perching herself on the edge of the rock he was sitting on. He sat up, arching and letting his fin fall down beside the two of them. He said nothing to answer Bedelia’s question.

 _“Hannibal…”_  She said, slightly exasperated. She brushed her hooked fingers through her long blonde hair, schooling it back into a state of semi-relaxation. It flowed and fell down her shoulders in long waves, bobbing and seeming to have a life of it’s own. Hannibal supposed it kind of did.

“Bedelia, it’s nothing. You know it’s nothing.”

“I don’t know it’s nothing.” Bedelia said, locking her crystalline blue eyes into his. “Don’t forget about what happened to Mischa.”

Hannibal’s eyes snapped shut and he could see were nets. So many nets wrapped around her tiny frame. She was just curious; they both were. He watched them hoist her over the side of the boat screeching and keening and gnashing his teeth, flashing his claws. But it was no good. Her tiny gills were dried up almost the moment her body was out of the water.

Hannibal wondered if some of the curiosity he still harbored was left over in her memory.

Regardless of where it came from, the curiosity burned inside him the way that salt burned the eyes of those not accustomed to living beneath the waves. Burned in the way he assumed a fire would, if he could ever be anywhere dry enough to feel the heat and hear the crackles from it reverberating through the air around it.

When Hannibal opened his eyes again, Bedelia was gone. Alone again, he was left with his memories and conflicting desires. He stayed where he was until the light reflecting and refracting through the water around him changed slowly from clear and iridescent to hazy reds and orange, and eventually shifted to the opaque black-blue of the night. The darkness was punctuated only by the tiny pinpricks of stars and the moon. Full. Slightly smudged around the edges in time with the way the waves moved above him.

Hannibal watched it for a while, the slight motion nearly lulling him to sleep, until something slid into his line of vision and obstructed his view of the moon. Something rather large, and white on the bottom. Even from where he sat, he knew what the object was. Something he had been taught to fear and shy away from since he was young, and yet that very thing held the very things he was most interested in. Slowly, something on a chain began to fall through the water. He watched as bubbles trailed to the surface as the anchor settled on the floor next to him, nestled against his rock.

If this wasn’t a sign from some kind of higher power, Hannibal had no idea what was.

*

Will laid in his small cot in his bunk beneath the deck of the fishing boat. The four members were lucky enough to have a room to themselves for this trip. This wasn’t always the case when they went on trips, and Will was almost sure this had been done intentionally, and entirely for his benefit. And he was thankful. He didn’t think he could handle being in a small room with anyone but himself and the walls to listen to him stay awake all night.

This had been exactly what had happened on his last trip before he was forced to take a break from fishing for a while. No one thought it was healthy for him to return to the water for at least a few weeks, and Will didn't disagree. It had been unsettling enough to wake up from sleepwalking in his own home, safely on land. It had been an entirely different kind of terrifying waking up sliding off the side of the boat, up to his knees in icy water. Will doesn't like to think about what would have happened if Brian hadn't heard him screaming and come on deck to rescue him.

It was after that that Captain had insisted he take a leave. There was no way he could come back on board before sorting himself out. Will hadn't known what was wrong with him in the slightest, but he had gone to a few doctors and seen a therapist a handful of times. He had started taking some medication that was supposed to help him with the sleepwalking, but Will wasn't sure there had been any definite improvement. Jack was appeased with the information that he had been consistently taking his pills, though. So here Will was, back on the boat.

And Will had been happy with his decision, in the daylight. Now that it was dark and he was alone, Will wasn't so sure he had made the right choice. He was absolutely exhausted from being out in the hot sun all day, but he was terrified of letting himself sleep. Will left his room, pulling a flannel shirt around his shoulders. He thought of waking up Jimmy and asking him to sit with him for a while, but decided against it. He didn’t want any of them to know he was second guessing himself. The last thing he wanted was to be sent home, landlocked and forgotten.

Instead, he found himself sitting huddled against himself on a chair left on the deck of the boat from that afternoon. He curled up on it and watched the way the reflection of the stars glittered on the smooth, and yet somehow still broken, surface of the water that surrounded him. He felt small, tiny, minuscule, sitting afloat on top of the glassy expanse. The water looked so calm. He wished he could force his insides to echo that. As it was, his internal walls were not far enough apart to create a true echo of anything around him. The only thing that came back reverberating throughout him was the broken and rough edges of what he had started out with.

Will stood, surprising even himself with the motion. His hands found the smooth wood of the side of the boat again, and watched the water in silence. He longed to reach down, to let the arms of the ocean carry him away…

Will was shaken from his thoughts with such a force that he nearly toppled over. Regaining his bearings, he stared back into the water to try to discern what it was that had startled him so. He found himself staring into a pair of inquisitive and piercing eyes. He couldn’t look away. He didn’t see the way that droplets of water were beading up and slipping off of the man’s wild hair. He didn’t notice the small fins on each of his forearms, either. Will could not make himself break the other man’s gaze, no matter what he tried. He felt completely enraptured by the stare, like magnets were drawing his pupils into the red tinged irises.

Even more surprising was how easy the eye contact came to Will. He did not want to look away, which was an entirely foreign feeling, usually finding himself wanting to tear his eyes away as soon as he could and not one moment later.

“Hello.” the voice that came from the water was melodic and seemed to harmonize with itself. Will had never heard anything quite so beautiful. He wanted to hear it again. He wanted to make this mysterious creature speak again. He wanted to be certain he wouldn’t lose interest in someone like him - just a lowly fisherman.

“Hi.” was the best Will could come up with. Hardly enchanting.

“What’s your name?” the voice struck an ethereal chord, and Will was sure he could not ignore it even if he wanted to. He wanted to answer any question that it asked him, as long as it kept sounding so astonishing.

“I’m Will Graham. What’s your name? Who are you?”

The creature before him opened his mouth to speak again when the water shifted. The gaze was torn from Will and he felt himself reeling in its sudden absence. Blinking profusely, he watched as the creature turned slightly to look as another figure broke the surface. This one was distinctly feminine, and had long waves of blonde hair that seemed entirely unaffected by the water she had just come up from beneath.

“What are you doing?” Her voice was interesting, but not as gorgeous as the other one’s had been. He wanted to hear more.

“I’m not...I wasn’t…”

“Hello, who are you?” Will asked again, interjecting against his better judgement. The woman’s eyes caught his and stung like daggers. Will nearly stumbled backwards for the second time that evening. He did not like this second figure nearly as much. She lacked the appeal and calming aura that the first one had possessed and transferred onto Will.

“Let’s go. You’re not supposed to be up here.” She nearly screeched at him. He looked up at Will, their eyes catching once more. Will felt a promise in them, a proposal to return.

“Who  _are_  you?” Will insisted again. He just wanted a name to put to this handsome creature.

“ _Now_ , Hannibal!” The woman latched onto the man’s arm with a webbed hand and pulled him under the water as quickly as the two of them had come up. Will scrambled to the edge and looked over, trying and failing to watch them trial beneath the surface in the dark.

 _“Hannibal…”_  Will repeated, feeling the weight of the name tickle his tongue.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* Merkisses

Will stayed on the deck for the most of the night, scouring the surface of the water for the mysterious creatures that had visited him. He had no idea what he had seen, and he tried to stop his mind from supplying a name to ease his suspicions.

_Merpeople._

Will tried to shake that idea off. There was no way he had seen something that only existed in the dusty mythology books that he had on his shelf at home. He was just tired. He was probably hallucinating, again. At least he didn’t sleep walk right off the boat this time. Though he had wanted to follow the pair of them, especially once he saw two tail fins flick out of the water as they retreated.

He had kept mumbling the strange name he had heard and mentally assigned to the man he had seen last night, trying to make sure the syllables were weighted correctly. Just in case he were to see him again. He wanted to be sure he knew how to say his name correctly.

“Hannibal…”

“What was that, Will?” Brian was suddenly behind him, handing him a steaming mug of coffee. Will took it gratefully, stumbling a bit over his words.

“Oh, nothing. It was-”

“Were you out here all night?” Jimmy was behind him as well, concern evident in his voice.

“No, I came out a little while ago. I woke up and couldn’t sleep anymore. I didn’t want to miss the sunrise.” That much was true. Will had been looking forward to seeing the sun come up over the horizon to color the sky and sea for the first time that day. But, when the sun came up, it had been almost impossible not to be disappointed that the sun didn’t bring more clarity or another sighting of whoever or whatever he had seen the night before.

Jimmy seemed to accept his answer because he settled wordlessly in next to him, sipping his own coffee.

In the back of his mind, Will was nervous the entire day. He was worried each time there was a nibble on a line, each time a pole was reeled in. He was relieved each time that it was only a fish, some larger than others, on the end of the line. Will was terrified he would find his hook snared deep within the fin or gilled sides of Hannibal or his friend. He was being extra careful himself while casting. He took extra care not to weigh his hook down unnecessarily. He tried to cast as far away as he could manage. He soon fell into the rhythm of spools of fishing line being pulled from their reels, and the soft plunks of baited hooks hitting the surface of the water, all punctuated by the slapping splashes of a fish being pulled from the water. The morning bled into the afternoon quickly and easily, and Will allowed it

He hoped the evening would bring back his visitor from the night before.

*

“Look!” Bedelia hissed, gesturing widely up at the water above them. “Do you see what they’re doing?”

Hannibal looked up from the book he had been reading and followed her gaze, listlessly. Of course he knew what they were doing. Why else would humans come out to sea on a boat like that? Hannibal watched as a colorful hook slipped beneath the surface and glided down gently. It hung, suspended. The lines were never long enough to reach down to where he and the rest of the merfolk lived, but sometimes a tailfin was caught and severed. Sometimes, one of their young weren’t strong enough to get away, sometimes they were caught by one small hook and then suddenly ensnared in a tangle of thick nets and carried off and never seen again.

Hannibal closed his eyes and breathed through his nose for a moment, placing the book down open against his stomach. He shook his head and ran his hands down the scales on his fin. He toyed with the fraying edges of his tail as he watched an unsuspecting fish curiously bite at whatever the hook was baited with. Too late, it realized it was snared and tried to thrash and swim away, but it was no use. Hannibal watched as the poor thing was dragged against it’s will to the top of the water and out of his sight. He waited until another hook was dropped in to answer Bedelia.

“Yes, I see.”

“That’s what that human is trying to do to you! He is going to hook you with pretty looks, and then pull you up and away and keep you in a bathtub, if you’re lucky. If you aren’t, well…”

Hannibal shifted his gaze to lay on her steel eyes. Of course Will Graham had hooked him. And Hannibal was sure that he was just as dangerous, but he could not stop himself from wanting to see his pretty face again. He hoped against hope that the fishing would be good for them today, that the boat would not leave and take Will Graham away with it. His skin crawled with the need to go to the surface again. To hear Will Graham speak to him, listen to his inquisitive voice and answer more of his questions.

“Hannibal, are you listening to me? He isn’t going to be your friend. When he gets bored with a friend that can’t leave the water, you’ll be nothing more than another display in a museum, dried and mounted. You’ll be the entree at dinner. You’ll be dead, Hannibal! Is that what you want?”

Hannibal turned so he was facing Bedelia completely. His mouth was set in a firm line and his eyes were on fire. Anger bubbled in his chest and he fought to control it as hard as he could, but failed. “And how, exactly, is that different from what we do to the humans who fall from their boats, who got just a little too curious? Or the ones who we snare and lead down into our depths of our own accord? What happens to them, Bedelia? They are played with, they are killed, and they are eaten.”

“Hannibal, that is entirely different than-”

“I fail to see where the difference lies. Humans are inherently curious. They know nothing of us. When they take one of us, they are trying to learn our ways. They don’t know how to care for us, but it is not their fault. We treat humans maliciously. We know everything about them, this isn’t curiosity.”

“Then why are you so curious about that one?” Bedelia tilted her head up sharply, indicating the boat above them.

“I do not have an answer for you. Perhaps I would had you not cut our meeting short. I am going to ask you not to interfere again. Let me alone, and allow me to do as I wish. You are neither my mother or my superior.”

“I can’t believe this, Hannibal! What would Mischa think?”

Hannibal breathed, again. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before swimming a bit closer to Bedelia to get his point across. He fought down the urge to press his book into her chest while he spoke again.

“You will _stop_ using my sister’s death as a ploy against me. Mischa was curious as I am about the world up there, and she would endorse me interacting with the fisherman. Sometimes, I feel like I’m doing it for her. You know nothing about the relationship we had, and it is not up to you to force me to rationalize my actions.”

Hannibal swam away from her, as quickly as his fins would let him. He knew if he stayed even a moment longer, he would continue to spit venom and say or do something he may regret later. As it was, he was not particularly pleased with himself for reacting the way he had. Usually, he kept his emotions under complete control. But the fisherman was doing something to his resolve. Even just thinking his name brought shivers down Hannibal’s spine and made the fins on his forearms flex and stand on end.

_“Will Graham…”_

He was going to see him again tonight. He had to. He knew Mischa would want him to, regardless of the filth Bedelia spewed earlier.

*

The afternoon had been very productive for Will and his crew. They had caught a good haul of fish and were preparing to head home the following day. Will was absolutely exhausted, having not slept before. He longed for the subtle rocking of the waves to lull him to sleep, and he was sure they would, but he was worried about what might come visit him in his dreams. Worried was an understatement, Will was terrified.

So he sat in his bunk, leaning against the wall with his knees pulled to his chest and a blanket slung over his shoulders. He looked out the round window into the inky darkness that surrounded them and tried to lose himself in it. He leaned his head back against the wall and felt the rough texture of the wood snag in his hair. He grounded himself to that, and tried desperately to stay awake. He longed for just a few blissful moments of sleep, but he would not allow himself to risk being told he had to stay home again. He needed the open air and he needed the sea.

_He needed to see Hannibal again…_

Will blinked and shoved that thought away. The daylight had nearly convinced him that he had only imagined seeing those creatures last night. He had drank too much whiskey and neglected to sleep it off. It was the sun and the salt mixing in with his tired mind. He needed to get used to being at sea again, he knew.

But Hannibal’s voice rang in his ears, too vivid to be something out of even his overactive imagination. He replayed the short and broken off conversation they had had, and had nearly let himself drift to sleep. His eyes were almost dropping shut when suddenly, a flash of gold caught his eye through the small window. Will was across the small room in a moment, clutching at the rounded metal, digging his thumbs in the divots of the screws. His forehead nearly pressed to the glass, he saw it again. A golden tail fin, accented with crimson along the edges flicked above and below the surface. Soon a head poked up, tentatively. Will could only make out stringy hair, a forehead, and - the eyes made Will’s breath catch. There was no way he could have forgotten the deep burgundy of them. Even through the glass, they held Will completely captive. Will reached up a hand to wave, hoping that the creature could see him. He must have, because a wet and scaly hand reached up and waved back, webbing evident between the fingers.

Soon, Hannibal was swimming closer to the boat, almost pressing up against the side. He rose a bit more above the water, exposing his whole face, and the huge toothy smile that was fixed snugly around his lips. Will couldn’t help but smile back. Hannibal tried to get closer still, as Will pressed against the glass, feeling like he was watching an exhibit in an aquarium. Hannibal swam eagerly, trying to get as close as he could, and suddenly struck his face against the glass. Will’s forehead reverberated from the contact, and he had to cover his mouth to stifle his laughter as Hannibal brought a hand to press against his own.

Will’s focus immediately traveled to the back of Hannibal’s hand and he stared at the well-defined knuckles and slightly elongated fingernails. The fins on the back of his forearm flared and pressed against his arm alternately, and Will could not look away. They were the same color of gold that his fin was, but the crimson accenting the edges was much deeper here, a ruby red, a drop of untouched blood. They were _gorgeous_.

Focusing again, Will held up one finger and gestured for Hannibal to wait one moment. Hannibal nodded and gestured as well to the deck of the boat. Will nodded, still smiling, and wrapped the blanket tighter about his shoulders before sneaking out of his bunk and up to the main deck of the boat.

He got there and nearly scrambled to the edge, peeking over the side and hoping to see Hannibal. Sure enough, there he was, water sluicing off of his beautifully defined shoulders in rivulets. His smile was gone now, and in it’s place was a look of concentration.

“Hello, Will Graham.”

Will nearly melted as the musical voice hit his ears once more. His imagination did not do justice to the way Hannibal’s voice sounded around Will’s name.

“Hi.” Will squeaked, again cursing himself for not having anything interesting to say. Anything that he could think up would pale in comparison to whatever Hannibal would have to say to him. His tiny voice could never match up to the absolute musicality of Hannibal’s. His voice seemed to dance and swim in the air as it met Will’s ear drums. He could get lost in it and it’s strange accent. He wanted Hannibal to keep talking, and talk to him forever so he could wrap himself up in his words. They were more comfortable than most of his clothing. Will felt he was more at home inside them than he ever felt in his own skin.

Hannibal smiled up at him again, all teeth that glinted with the moonlight reflected off the water. Will leaned down a little further and held his hand out. Hannibal reached up, not hesitating at all to press his hand against Will’s. His hand was much better, he could almost wrap his fingers over the tops of Will’s. His hand was dry and warm against his cold, clammy one. Will’s eyes were trained on the juxtaposition of their hands, staring at the fins on Hannibal’s slender forearm.

“I am sorry about...those.” Hannibal said, following Will’s gaze.

“Oh, no - no, don’t be sorry!” Will immediately felt bad for staring at something that Hannibal clearly had no control over. He dropped his gaze and studied the wood panels that made up the side of the boat. “You, uh, you said your name was Hannibal?”

“Indeed it is, Will Graham.”

“You-you can just call me Will. That would be fine.” Will kept his eyes averted, though he wanted desperately to look into Hannibal’s beautifully entrancing eyes again.

“If that is what you prefer, Will.”

“It is, yes.”

“You are not fond of eye contact, are you?”

Will swallowed. He had had this conversation nearly a thousand times in his life. “No, I’m not really. Eyes distract me. But...yours are different.”

“Different?” Hannibal echoed. “How so?”

“I don’t know. When I look at your eyes, instead of wanting to look away immediately, I don’t want to look away at all.”

“Then, look.”

Will tore his gaze from the water that lapped around Hannibal’s waist and let his eyes travel up his torso. It gleamed with water that made his body look like it sparkled in the moonlight. Will’s gaze followed the gentle curve of Hannibal’s lips and moved up the sharp swell of his cheekbones and the slope of his nose before settling on Hannibal’s eyes. They were no less startling than they were the first time he had seen them. Within moments, Will was lost. He was enraptured in the color of them. The hue was something that Will had never seen before. Saying his eyes were red simply did not cut it. They were crimson; fresh blood from a cut vein, twin roses with black centers, a wax seal on a letter keeping the secrets inside. The color of strawberries being placed behind the rouge stained lips of some forgotten Greek royalty. The color of fire, the color of heat and anger and passion. Will’s breath left him in a gasp.

“They’re beautiful. _You’re_ beautiful.” Will whispered.

“My kind uses our eyes to hypnotize the humans we come into contact with.”

“Are you hypnotizing me right now?” Will asked, feeling slightly alarmed that he was not more concerned with the answer.

“No. We are only meant to use it when we are threatened. It is a means to save ourselves and get away. Should I feel threatened?”

Hannibal leaned closer when he said those words, and Will followed suit. He was leaning so far forward that the rail was digging into his stomach and pinching the nerves there. Will didn’t care. He leaned impossibly further, hanging half over the water. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to achieve by moving closer, but he knew he needed to be nearer to Hannibal. Nearer than just their hands touching.

“No,” Will gasped. He didn’t want to hurt Hannibal or make him feel threatened. All he wanted was to know him, to see him and the life that he led. Will wanted to know everything about the way that he lived, and the things that he did every day. He wanted to know everything about life under the waves. He wanted Hannibal to tell him everything.

Will closed his eyes and leaned his head down to press his forehead to Hannibal’s. Will parted his lips and leaned himself down, hooking his knees around the rail to keep from falling in. Though, he knew if he did Hannibal would catch him and keep him safe.

Hannibal leaned back quickly, a harsh breath escaping his lips.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Hannibal. I promise.”

That small but honest assurance must have been all Hannibal needed because before Will understood what was happening, he was being pressed part of the way back into the boat, water sloshing around Hannibal’s body. Will caught a glimpse of the shimmering gold before there were tentative lips on his. Will froze, pressing himself into the kiss. He allowed his mouth to open and his tongue to slip out, running along the seam of Hannibal’s lips and tasting him. Hannibal’s mouth opened as well, with a soft oh, and his tongue slid along Will’s. Will moaned openly, trying to memorize Hannibal’s taste. He tasted enticing, like salt, and it sent a sudden jolt of feeling through Will’s gut.

Hannibal pulled away, and Will felt his limbs go slack as he took a few breaths. Hannibal’s hands were on his face then, touching his cheeks, feeling his jawbone, wet fingers entangling in his air, matting his curls. Will smiled, worming into the touch. He found himself longing to be held in Hannibal’s arms. He wanted to be kept safe in the wet tangle of them. He wanted to feel his chest flush against Hannibal’s, his legs slide over Hannibal’s fin. He wondered if it would be smooth and slippery or rough and catch on his skin. Will kissed up the underside of Hannibal’s wrist before catching his hand and holding it tightly in his. Hannibal pressed a timid, chaste kiss to Will’s lips before speaking again.

“I want to see you again.”

“I leave tomorrow. I’m heading home.” Hannibal looked crestfallen, and Will felt awful. “But, I live really close to the shore. I could tell you how to get there if you wanted. I could even maybe come into the water….if you wanted…” Will trailed off, knowing he was repeating himself, feeling suddenly very unsure of himself.

Hannibal opened his mouth to answer, but before he could someone shouted from inside the boat behind the two of them.

“Oh my god, Will!” Will cringed, and mouthed go to Hannibal. He watched the golden fin descend into the depths until he could no longer see it. Brian was behind him in a moment, pulling him up by the shoulders and turning him around. “Will, what were you doing? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Brian.”

Brian shook his head. “You were hanging half out of the boat. Again. Sit down, I’m going to get Jimmy.”

Will obeyed, dejectedly. He reached up to touch his lips and felt himself aching for Hannibal. He never told Hannibal where to meet him. He was never going to see him again. Will suddenly felt like he was suffocating.

In moments, Jimmy was behind him and picking up his fallen blanket and wrapping him in it. He dropped to his knees in front of Will, trying to get him to look into his eyes. Will never wanted to look in anyone’s eyes again that weren’t Hannibal’s.

“Tell me what happened, Will.” Jimmy coaxed, rubbing his hands up and down Will’s arms. Will wondered if he could see the wet patches on his shirt and in his hair and on his lips… “Did you see something in the water?”

“I…” Will had no idea what to say. Even if he told the truth, neither Jimmy nor Brian would believe him. However, as it was he had just secured himself a one-way ticket home with no further admittance back onto the boat.

“What did you see?”

“There was a man.”

“In the water, Will?” Jimmy was still talking to him, but Brian was looming behind him. Will closed his eyes. He wanted to block everything out. He tried to remember how happy he had been when Hannibal had been pressed near to him.

“Yes. In the water. I think he was a merman.” Will knew how ridiculous he sounded, but there was nothing else to be done. He cringed at Jimmy’s sad look and the way he shook his head.

“I’ll go tell Jack Will hallucinated again.” Brian said, before walking from the deck in search of Jack.

“No! I wasn’t hallucinating. He was there. This isn’t like last time!” Will nearly snarled. Jimmy tried to placate him.

“Okay, Will. Everything is okay. You’ll feel better after you’re back on land.”

 _No, I won’t,_ Will thought. _Not if Hannibal can’t find me._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I decided on making this be four chapters long. And the next chapter should be up on Friday! Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* Mersmut

Hannibal swam, as fast as he could away from the surface. He knew Will wasn’t going to hurt him, but he was not so sure about his companions, and judging by the look on Will’s face, he hadn’t been so sure either. Hannibal’s stomach dropped as he swam - Will had never given him instruction on how to find him once he was off the boat. Safely on back on the floor, Hannibal lay in the sand and looked up. He could still see the dark outline of the bottom of the boat. It was still close enough to touch, and Will was still there. Just out of reach.

Hannibal knew he needed to see this wonderfully remarkable human again, and there was no way he would miss this chance. He couldn’t wait for them to return to this place, because it was very likely that they would not. Hannibal closed his fists angrily, trying to think of a solution. He licked his lips and still tasted Will. He had tasted so unique…exotic and sweet like something Hannibal had never tasted. He had tasted earthy and organic, and entirely intoxicating. Hannibal needed more.

He needed to know what the rest of him tasted like as well. What it would be to lick at the skin of his neck, to suckle at the bones that protruded from his shoulders. He wanted to run his hands all over Will’s dry body, to reach out and bend his legs at the knees and crumple each and every one of his toes, just so he could figure out how they worked. He wanted to learn him, inside and out.

Still watching the shadow of the boat, Hannibal made up his mind. He would stay awake tonight, and wait for the vessel to depart. He would follow it in to the shore, and hope to at least catch one more glimpse of Will. If things went according to what Hannibal wanted, he would have a chance to ask Will where to find him again. He hoped against everything that he would.

The last thing Hannibal wanted was to be left at sea and never see Will again. Not when things had been going so well. Not when there was still so much to learn. Not with the taste of his tongue still lingering in his mouth. Hannibal ran his finger along the edge of his bottom lip, hoping to keep the taste inside his mouth for just a few moments longer. He swallowed around Will’s taste, consuming it, engulfing it, keeping it burning alive inside of him.

Hannibal’s curiosity bent and shifted inside of him. He felt it heavy in his chest and weighing down his arms. He needed to know more about Will. He needed to follow. He _needed to know what would happen._

*

Will sat in his bunk again, petulant and fuming. He hadn’t exactly expected anyone else in his crew to believe him, but he was still upset that they had shut him down so quickly. He had been ushered off of the deck and back below “for his own safety”. He waited to feel the boat give beneath him, signaling that they were on the way back to land.

Something cold had settled in Will’s stomach, and he could not exactly place a name to what it was he was feeling. It felt like longing, and it felt like emptiness. It felt like something else that Will could not explain, as well. He could feel each and every bit of water that surrounded him. He knew it lay beneath his feet and the few layers of wood under them. He could feel every wave, every drop. There was a sudden electric current rushing through the water, and tingling up Will’s arms and legs to settle at the base of his spine. He felt magnetized to it, he wanted to be submerged in it. He was sure that if he were still on deck, he would try to throw himself over the side yet again. But this? This felt so much different than the last time. This time he had a reason to follow his heart into the waves. He had a reason to want to explore the crystalline depths he had only ever dared to glide over the top of. He had a reason; a reason that he may never see again. That thought alone made him want to swim his muscles into exhaustion and fill his lungs with water in an attempt to see even a glimpse of that golden fin and those captivating eyes again.

The boat lurched around Will and his head knocked against the wall behind him. He looked up balefully and watched as the water beneath his window was displaced and moved and began to fleck the glass. He watched as he driven away from the first place he had felt actually, genuinely happy in years. Never one to wallow in self-pity, Will did just that.

That is, until he heard an insistent tapping on the glass of his window. His focus shifted immediately to the round pane of glass. He could barely believe what he saw there. One hand was poised in front of the glass, a claw-like fingernail poking at it in an attempt to get Will’s attention. He followed the hand with his gaze and his eyes were immediately caught in orbs of red, accompanied by a toothy and slightly alarming smile. Will’s heart swelled and he scrambled from his bed and across the room, a smile playing on his lips.

Hannibal stopped tapping and waved excitedly. Will had to stifle a giggle as he worked to crank open his window with trembling fingers.

“They’re not going to let you come back, are they?”

Will sighed as Hannibal’s voice caressed and held him. “No, they’re not. They think I’m off my meds again.”

“Your meds?” Hannibal asked, cocking his head to the side.

“And I’m not! I’ve been taking them, I just…” Will ran one hand through his already dishevelled curls. He looked up again when he felt a cold and slightly wet hand ghost at his elbow.

“You’re upset.” Hannibal stated, trying to catch Will’s eye again.

“I just want to see you again. And I’m not going to be able to come out this far in my own boat.”

“Tell me where to meet you, Will. I’ll come. I want to see you again as well. I will find my way to you.”

The boat shifted again and began to move faster. Will hated himself for the distressed whimper that left his lips as Hannibal struggled to keep pace against the wake the boat was creating in the water. Mercifully, Hannibal caught back up quickly and clutched onto the window sill. Will could hear Brian and Jimmy moving about in the hallway outside. He knew they were running out of time. Will leaned as close as he could to the window and whispered directions as descriptive as he could to the shore his house rested on.

Hannibal nodded and committed the instructions to memory. “I will see you again soon, Will Graham.” He whispered before leaning forward once more to press his lips to Will’s. Their cheeks and noses touched and Will was left to watch Hannibal swim away, his tail flicking up in a farewell, feeling the water on his face.

The door to his bunk opened the second Hannibal was out of sight and Will spun around, feeling guilt manifest and swell into a blush on his cheeks. Jimmy stood in the doorway, and quickly crossed the room to Will. He placed both hands on Will’s shoulders and tried to make eye contact. Will kept his gaze downcast, swallowing compulsively.

“Will, were you crying?” Jimmy asked, reaching up to wipe away some of the wetness on Will’s cheeks.

“I- no, I wasn’t.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, Will. I’m sorry that we had to tell Crawford. I know you were excited to come back, but..maybe you weren’t ready yet after all.” Will leaned into Jimmy’s touch, resting his head against his shoulder. He was seeking comfort, and Jimmy was giving it, even though he had no knowledge of the real reason Will was upset. For a moment, Will wished that he could tell Jimmy what was happening. He wished he had someone who could understand. He wanted, needed, someone to talk about what was happening to him.

As excited as he was, he was scared. He was terrified. As completely entranced with Hannibal as he was, he was apprehensive. Hannibal was unknown. Hannibal was something completely foreign and new and _other_ that Will was breathless with excitement just thinking about him. Hannibal could _kill him_. Will wanted to be confident that he wouldn’t, but there was no real way he could be sure. He wished with every fiber of his being that he had someone he could confide in.

Still encased in Jimmy’s arms, he felt pathetic for allowing himself to get to the point where he had no one outside of his fishing crew, an entire three people who thought he was more unstable than a sailboat with a broken mast. His chest felt tight, but no real tears fell from his eyes. He didn’t want pity from Jimmy when he did not even know the whole story, and never would listen if he did. Will separated himself from Jimmy and looked him in the eye for a moment before he could bear it no longer and let his gaze flit around the tiny room, taking everything in and settling on nothing.

“Maybe in a few weeks you’ll feel better. I’m pulling for you, kid.” Will nodded, still looking everywhere but at the other man. Will felt badly, but he could not make himself keep eye contact. Jimmy patted him on the back one more time before releasing his hold on the smaller man. “We should be reaching the shore soon. But Will?”

Will sensed that Jimmy wanted him to respond, so he forced himself to make another brief moment of eye contact. “Yeah?”

“If you need anything while we’re on land, you have my number. I want you to call me.”

“Okay,” Will nodded. “I will. Thanks, Jimmy.”

*

Will knew he was never going to actually call Jimmy, even if he wanted to. Even if, as he sat and ate a tasteless dinner alone, he wanted someone to come over and drink a few beers with him. Even after he woke up screaming the first night he had spent home alone. He could have called Jimmy, but what could he have done? Pitied him more than he already did, Will was sure.

He could have called Jimmy to come sit with him on the beach in the back of his house, waiting and watching. He could have proved to him that there had been a man in the water that night. He could have convinced him to help talk Jack into letting him back on the boat. But as it was, he sat in the quickly cooling night air by himself. He did not want to endanger Hannibal like that. Will worried that Jimmy would try to trap and keep the creature, and Will had promised Hannibal that he would not hurt him.

_He never promised you the same thing._

Will shook his head, trying to dispel his thoughts. He did not want to let his mind get the better of him. He focused on the place that the water met the horizon as the last of the light faded from the sky. He was not exactly sure when Hannibal was planning to come to his beach, but the last thing he wanted to do was miss him. Will scoured the glassy surface in front of him, seeking out any trace of a golden fin. Will’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest every time a fish jumped for an insect in the distance. Even after sitting in the darkness for forty five minutes, each shift in the water brought a spike to his blood pressure.

_He isn’t coming._

Will shook his head vigorously, trying keep his doubts at bay. He was acting like a high schooler whose date was five minutes late. He had no idea what Hannibal may have been doing, and he was willing to bet that Hannibal did not even know what a watch was, much less have one.

_You didn’t give him good enough directions._

He _had_ been rushed. He was upset. What if he had told Hannibal to go right when he had meant to say left? Did he tell him his house was white with black shutters or black with white ones? Maybe he had muddled his words, and gotten Hannibal completely lost.

_Maybe he didn’t really want to see you again._

Will buried his head in his hands, knees resting on his elbows. He tried to quell his self-doubt, but it was no use. Why would Hannibal, such a beautiful and majestic creature want to come back to see him? Someone who was so plain, so average, so broken...

_Maybe Brian was right. Maybe you were hallucinating._

Will tugged on his curls, knotting his fingers in them. He all but gave up on watching the horizon, the glimmer of hope that had been sparking beneath his ribcage had been snuffed out as quickly as it had been placed there.

_You made him up. Hannibal isn’t even real._

_You_ are _crazy._

_You made it all up._

Will didn’t bother to look up when he heard the water shifting again. He didn’t move when he thought he heard someone calling his name faintly, even though it sounded like Hannibal’s musical voice. He was sure - absolutely certain - that it was only his mind playing tricks on him again. After all, Hannibal had seemed completely real when he hallucinated him the first time. Maybe he should think about making an appointment to get a high dosage of medicine the next time he refilled his prescription.

Whoever was calling him would not give up, however. It wasn’t until the voice got closer that Will tentatively looked up. A crooked smile cracked through his features as he stood up hastily, barefoot in the sand, lifting his arms from his sides.

“Will! Are you alright?” Hannibal was about thirty feet from the shore line, reaching one of his hands up to wave. Will was once again transfixed by the fin on his arm. It looked almost sharp from this distance, like it could be used as a weapon. The red on the edge did nothing to help that image, and Will wondered if Hannibal had ever used them to kill his dinner.

“Yeah, I’m alright!” Will shouted back, gesturing for Hannibal to come in closer. Hannibal’s arm dropped into the water with a splash.

“I can’t come in that far, Will! It’s too shallow. Can you come out here?”

Will smiled to himself. He had told Hannibal he would go in the water to be closer to him. Heart hammering in his chest once again, he pulled his shirt up over his head and stepped out of his jeans, nearly running into the water in his boxers.

He quickly reached Hannibal, after almosts tripped a few times. Will stopped when he was face to face with Hannibal, water coming up to his chest and barely lapping at the hollows of his collarbones.

He leaned forward, unable to wait for Hannibal to say another word. He had to convince himself that this real and not another hallucination. He pressed himself up against Hannibal, their wet chests sliding together. Will pushed his mouth against Hannibal’s, opening the other man’s mouth and gasping into it at the salty taste. Suddenly, there were hands on his back, gripping his shoulder blades and sliding up and down his spine. Will pressed himself impossibly closer to Hannibal, feeling his knees and thighs rub up against his fin, wondering if Hannibal could feel the way his skin was heated even through the water.

Will reached to cup the back of Hannibal’s neck, fingers carding through his wet and slicked back hair. Will opened his eyes as Hannibal’s tongue searched his mouth and fought to make the kiss deeper. Hannibal’s eyes were clenched shut, as though he was channeling all of his energy and focus into Will. Will moaned in the back of his throat at the thought of the attention he was getting and moved to place a knee between Hannibal’s thighs -

Before he realized there were no thighs for him to press up between. Sensing his change in stance, Hannibal broke the kiss.

“I-I’m sorry, I-”

Hannibal silenced him with a wide eyed look before he reached forward and slid his hands over the bones in Will’s hips. His hands snagged on the sopping wet material of his now soaked boxers. They traveled down the outside of his thighs, twisted around his kneecaps, and gripped around his ankles.

“Fascinating…” Hannibal breathed before dipping down into the water. Will looked down and stifled a gasp as Hannibal’s head hung eye level with his groin. Will tilted his head back and breathed through his nose, willing himself to quell the small feelings of arousal that were beginning to stir.

Hannibal’s long fingers still traveled around his calves, the pads brushing lightly, the fingernails digging in slightly. It didn’t hurt and Will didn’t mind. Soon Hannibal’s hands were around his toes, bending each and every one of the small bones. Will couldn’t help but laugh at Hannibal’s curiosity. He only wished he could hold his breath long enough to get a chance to feel and explore Hannibal’s fins in such an in-depth way.

He felt thin lips press a shy kiss to each of his kneecaps while his hands wound up and around the front of his legs. Hannibal’s hands found their way under the fabric of his boxers and Will’s hands broke beneath the surface of the water to clutch at Hannibal’s hair and shoulders. Hannibal shifted his position, but did not cause Will to let go. He trailed tiny kisses up Will’s thigh before hooking his long fingers inside the waistband of Will’s boxers and gently tugging them down.

Will helped Hannibal by treading water for a moment, kicking his boxers off and watching them float to the surface a few feet away. Will only had a moment to think about how strange he must look if anyone could see him, with Hannibal underwater and completely unseen, but touching him the way he was.

Beneath the water, Hannibal was completely enthralled with each and every plane of Will’s pale skin. Each bump of bone, groove of skin, rough patch of hair deserved his undivided and rapt attention. He was glad when Will had removed the rest of his clothing. There was something intriguing about the fact that he had kept the pair of shorts on, anyway. Hannibal wanted to see the place where Will’s torso met his legs, he wanted to compare it to the place where his stomach met fit. He wanted to know what where his legs joined together looked like. He wanted to see every separate inch of Will’s beautiful body and catalog it to keep in his mind forever.

Hannibal gazed at the juncture of Will’s legs in slight confusion. There was a mass of dark hair that curled around itself. Hannibal smiled at it, and resisted the inexplicable desire he had to nuzzle his nose into it to instead focus on the extra bit of skin and muscle that now hung between Will’s legs. Hannibal’s confusion only grew the longer he looked. He understood the purpose of legs, and he knew that each human possessed two of them. He had never heard anything about a smaller bit of body housed between them. What was its purpose? What did Will use this part of himself for? Did every human on land have something like this? Were they all the same? Or was this something that unique to each human, much like his fin was completely unique to him?

Tentatively, slowly, he reached out and allowed his fingers to travel up the muscle. Hannibal flinched as it twitched and Will’s hips bucked forward. Will nearly lost his footing on the slippery rocks he was standing on and placed his hands on Hannibal’s broad shoulders to brace himself. Shocked, Hannibal backed away and came back up to the surface, only to see Will’s eyes closed, his cheeks flushed, and his chest heaving.

“Will-?”

Will’s eyes shot open and he bit his bottom lip, trying to control his breathing. A single touch should not have affected him as much as it did.

“Was that...something I should have not done?” Hannibal asked, color rising to his cheeks as well. Will marveled at the way the crimson blush matched his eyes.

“No, it was fine. You...you should ask first before touching someone like that, though.” Will explained, still a bit breathless, and wanting Hannibal to _please touch him again_ more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.

“I see. In that case, may I touch you like that again?”

Will looked at the integrity in Hannibal’s features coupled with the innocence of his voice. “Yes, _please_.”

Hannibal nodded before reaching out for Will. He pressed Will’s back to his chest, holding him secure with one arm. Will squirmed a bit, feeling the scales of Hannibal’s fin against the bare skin of his ass. Hannibal’s other hand slowly slid down Will’s stomach, brushing across it a few times as though his fingers were feeling for some sort of mark, before they dipped down and wrapped around the base of Will’s cock, a bit tighter this time.

Will groaned openly, arching and leaning his head back onto Hannibal’s shoulder. Hannibal kissed his forehead and buried his face in his curls, inhaling and pressing kisses to his scalp. The hand wrapped around Will pumped effortlessly, long fingers bringing Will closer and closer to ecstasy. For the second time that night, Will felt like a high schooler. He was achingly hard and already so close to his climax, and Hannibal had barely been touching him for two minutes.

Hannibal’s hand was a foreign feeling, smooth and slippery, yet slightly scaly, and not at all unpleasant. Will found himself arching and rutting into Hannibal’s large hand. Hannibal’s fingers wrapped and twisted around the head, as though he had done this a thousand times before and knew exactly what would bring Will off. Will was leaning heavily enough against Hannibal’s shoulder that he dared to let go of his chest to reach his other hand down and cup Will’s balls just as they were tightening along with his stomach.

Will keened, moaned, licked his lips and bit down on them. Soon, his vision was white and he was screaming Hannibal’s name as he came, fast and hard and he watched it jet out and dissipate into the water around them. Hannibal’s hand kept pumping, kept massaging, milked him dry and stroked him through his orgasm, and continued to stroke him.

As Will came down from his high, he squirmed against Hannibal, the sensation of the friction caused by Hannibal’s hand becoming too much for his overstimulated body too quickly.

“H-ah, Hanni-bal. _Hnnn_ , st-stop. Stop! Please, it’s too much. _It’s too much!_ ”

Hannibal immediately removed both hands, and Will almost sagged bonelessly into the water. Hannibal reached for him and caught him under his arms to lift him back up. Will leaned forward and placed all of his weight against Hannibal again, burying his face in the crook of his neck and peppering kisses wherever he could reach.

“Did I harm you? I am sorry.” Hannibal said quietly.

Will couldn’t help but laugh, humming slightly against Hannibal’s skin. “No, no you didn’t hurt me, Hannibal. That was...that was great.”

Hannibal smiled as well, worry deflating from his chest to be replaced by a swelling feeling of affection and pride. He clung onto Will, and knew that he was feeling something beyond fascination for this wonderful human. He had only been curious, had only wanted to see what would happen. He had not planned on falling in love with the other man.

Standing and holding each other within the water, Hannibal vigilantly making sure Will’s mouth and nose stayed above the water, neither man noticed the crown of blonde hair cresting above the water a few feet away. Neither man paid any attention to the audience they now had as Hannibal leaned down and pressed one more sweet kiss to Will’s lips.

“I’ve never seen something so beautiful.” Hannibal’s whisper ghosted against Will’s lips. A blush spread across Will’s cheeks and Hannibal smiled, knowing that he was the reason for it. Will shook his head, but Hannibal silenced his rebuttals by scooping him into his arms and kissing him with furious intent. Water fell from Will’s torso and down Hannibal’s arms in rivulets.

In the distance, Bedelia seethed. She knew what Hannibal was doing. She knew and she didn’t approve and she hated. Slowly dipping her head back down beneath the waves, she knew she had to put a stop to this before Hannibal let himself get in too deep, if he wasn’t there already. She had to keep him safe. She owed that much to Mischa.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is only one chapter left! Brace yourselves.


	4. Chapter 4

Hannibal’s every waking thought was about Will. He had never felt such a burning need for anyone else in his life. Not since he lost Mischa. He never wanted to put that much of himself into another being again. He learned how to be self contained, and learned ways to make himself happy without relying on anyone else. If Hannibal really had to think about it, it would be simple to pinpoint the time that he truly became interested about the world that lived above him.

It was true that he and Mischa had shared an interest in the beings that lived on land, but Hannibal never truly pursued gaining any knowledge about the other way of life until after he lost her. He had distanced himself from everything and everyone he knew. He was terrified of losing someone else who was close to him, and he could not stomach that thought. Instead, he isolated himself. He kept up appearances, but his mind was almost never on the ocean floor with his body. It resided somewhere up above. It lived in a dry house, where sun streamed through gauzy curtains, and the sound of cars driving by filtered in. Each room in his house meant something different to Hannibal, and he filled them to the brim with things that were important. He spent most of his time there.

The only one who had stuck by his side through all of it was Bedelia. Hannibal knew she had his best intentions at heart, and sometimes the way her blonde hair looked in certain lights reminded him so much of his dead sister it took his breath away.

Even now, as he scoured the seabed for the perfect shell, the best bit of coral, his thoughts were on Will. He tried to remember exactly the way that his mouth tasted, the way that his skin felt beneath his constantly wet hands. The planes of it were firm and dry and perfect and Hannibal couldn’t wait to have his hands on Will again. His hands now clenched around the smooth golden chain he held in his fist. He had found it a few weeks earlier glittering beneath a thin layer of sand. He had scooped it up to keep with his small collection of things from the upper world that he had kept and cherished. But now, despite possibly seeming like a lovesick adolescent, he wanted to attach something beautiful from his world to give to the most beautiful thing he had seen come out of the surface world.

Within the house of Hannibal’s mind, Will had now taken up a permanent residence. He had a bedroom that was down the hall upstairs and right across from Mischa’s room. Will’s presence pervaded the house like no other had before him, however. Not even Mischa. Hannibal only felt her when he went into her room. Will was often sitting in the living room, lounging on the plush sofa; or standing in the kitchen with a mug of something hot in his hands. The whole house now had a different tone and a different smell to it. One that was distinctly _Will._

Will was the sun that shone in through the windows, he brought light and warmth and security. He drove the cars beyond the walls that provided the comforting noise and presence of others around. But, Hannibal knew he needed no others. He wanted Will and Will alone. And though the two were as different from one another as they could be, Hannibal knew they would find a way of working whatever it was that they had out.

A shell caught Hannibal’s eye and he swam over to it. He uncovered the small shell and held it between his thumb and forefinger. He rolled the cerithe around a moment, admiring, before he decided it was perfect. The shell was mostly white, with a slight pink hue wrapping around the circular pattern of it. The color was the exact same shade of Will’s cheeks after Hannibal had kissed him. He loved it.

He bit into the top of it with one incisor and poked a perfect hole in it. He slowly and carefully thread the golden chain through it, letting the shell drop after it was secured. Hannibal watched the way that the murky sunlight danced along the chain entangled in his fingers and saw Will’s eyes sparkling in time. He only hoped that his gift would look as good when he met Will tonight.

_Tonight._

Hannibal held the shell necklace against his chest for a short moment before resolutely placing it around his neck so he would not run the risk of dropping or forgetting it. Tonight, he was meeting Will where they had met the last time they had seen each other. But, this time it would be different. Tonight, they would go out a bit deeper. Tonight, Will was bringing his small boat out so he could be closer to where Hannibal lived without having to swim the whole way. And Hannibal was bursting with excitement.

*

Will paced around his kitchen. He was itching for the sun to go down. During the daylight, it seemed like nothing he did at night could possibly be real. It felt like his splendid evenings were nothing more than a hallucination. Something much better than a nightmare, yes, but in the bright hours of the day the thought that Hannibal was only a figment of his imagination hurt more than the aftermath of any night terror. And yet, it was a thought he could not escape.

Will found himself longing for the nighttime, even on the nights where he wasn’t planning to see Hannibal. Hannibal was the moon to him: shining, glowing, reflecting, changing. He held the ocean in his grasp, he commanded it, and he held and commanded Will as well.

Will stood by his sink, looking at the new bottle of pills in his hand. During the weeks since his last voyage, Jack had insisted that he go see another doctor. Jimmy had come to his house personally to take him to the appointment that Jack had made for him. Two and half hours later, and Will left with an anger beneath his skin and new prescription in his name. But Will hadn’t taken even one of the pills. He was worried that everyone was right.

He was beyond terrified that Hannibal was not real. And he was afraid that if he started taking this new medicine, the only hallucination that was actually pleasing would leave his side forever. Since seeing Hannibal, things in his world seemed a little brighter. Everything seemed a little cleared, and a little more in focus. His life had a purpose, he had something to look forward to. Hannibal was his moon, gently guiding his orbit.

He watched as the clear blue sky was stained first pink, then orange, and then red - red that mirrored the crimson of Hannibal’s fins. Will sighed, feeling affection stirring in his chest and washing over him. Pulling him in deep like the waves of the ocean that kept him and Hannibal apart.

He knew it wasn’t exactly night time, but Will could not wait any more. He found himself pulling on his shoes with trembling fingers, bursting with excitement to see Hannibal again. His veins buzzed with anticipation as he pushed his small boat into the water and jumped inside off the tiny dock extending from his property. He yanked on the string of the motor a few times before it spluttered to life. Will couldn’t keep the smile off his face as his boat chugged and trundled along the surface of the water.

He knew he was going to be early, but he figured it would be nice to have a few moments alone with the water before Hannibal arrived. Will reasoned that it would also provide Hannibal a beacon to swim to. His presence on the surface would make sure that Hannibal knew where he was, and he would not get missed at all.

Will stopped his boat and carefully laid his anchor gently. He didn’t want to float too far, but he didn’t want to hurt anything or anyone that could be beneath him. He leaned back, watching the darkening sky and trying to calm his hammering pulse. He berated himself slightly, wishing he could keep his emotions and excitement in check. Doing that was never his strong suit, however.

Will spent his time scouring the horizon and the glassy surface around him, hoping each sound of water being displaced was Hannibal rising from the depths to meet him. Will’s stomach was tight with nervous excitement, and he wasn’t completely sure why.

Will nearly jumped out of his skin when a head breached the surface. He leaned over the short side of his boat, and saw a familiar head of gorgeous hair peeking up from below. He recognized her as Hannibal’s friend from the first day they met, and for a moment he was completely transfixed with how perfect her hair looked despite just having come from underwater.

“Uh- hi. I, um, I don’t think you told me your name, before?”

“Hello, Will. My name is Bedelia.”

“Hi, Bedelia. I think we really, um, got off on the wrong foot the first time we met,” Will opened his mouth to say more, but closed it immediately, regretting his choice of words. “I mean… What I meant to say was-”

“It’s fine, Will. All is forgiven. Hannibal sent me to tell you he would be along shortly. He was running a bit late.”

“Oh, okay. Is everything alright with him?”

“Oh, yes, he is just finishing up something, but then he will be on the way. Why don’t you come into the water with me? It will be a fine surprise for when he gets here.”

Will opened his mouth, but then pursed his lips slightly. He wasn’t entirely sure how safe he felt getting into dark water that he knew was over his head without Hannibal there to grip and hold him. “I don’t know, I think I’ll wait for-”

“Oh, come now Will! Hannibal confided in me that he would be delighted to meet you and have you miraculously in the water already. I’m only attempting to smooth over the tensions between him and I, and also you and I.”

Will’s mouth flexed in indecision. He wanted to trust Bedelia, but there was something settled in his stomach that said no. Will leaned over the side again, and looked down at her. She looked benign enough. Maybe she was only trying to do something nice for Hannibal, and if he didn’t make his decision quickly, he would ruin the surprise.

“Please, Will.”

Will looked down into her eyes. They didn’t pierce and bite this time. Now they were calm and pleading, nearly begging Will to do what she asked. Will spared a cursory glance at his surroundings; at the way the ocean matched the inky color of the sky making the line of the horizon impossible to make out. The entire world was dark, blankness above and blackness below. Will was lost in the disorienting magnitude of it. The moon would be out soon, and with it bring Hannibal. Or so Will hoped.

“All right.”

Will was unsure why he was agreeing, but soon he found himself toeing off his shoes and removing his jacket and his jeans. He could hear the voice in his head warning him to be cautious, warning that this was a bad idea, but Will found the shouts were muffled. He couldn’t listen to them, even if he tried. He dipped his toes into the water as he hung onto the outside of the bow.

“Is Hannibal going to be here soon?” Will asked, lowering himself into the water a bit more, letting his skin get used to the chill of it.

Will looked at Bedelia expectantly, hoping for an answer. He was worried he would be unable to stay in the cold water for very long, and he wanted to be able to spend as much time with Hannibal as he possibly could tonight.

Instead of answer. however, Bedelia suddenly surged forward and wrapped her cold and clammy arms around Will’s legs and dragged him into the water. Will’s scream was garbled and cut off by his head hitting first the side of the boat, then the water.

Will tried to avoid the living tangle of Bedelia’s wild blonde hair, each strand seemingly trying to entangle him and tie him down. He lashed out for a moment, crying for Hannibal, before Bedelia pressed his head beneath the water again, holding it there until Will went limp. She dipped below the water as well, trying to make her work quick. She Will’s ankle around the anchor line still trailing from his boat.

*

Hannibal swam to where he knew Will would be waiting for him. He knew he was going to be a bit early - the moon was not out yet - but he found he didn’t care. The thought of watching Will pull up in his small boat lit a small fire of excitement in Hannibal’s chest.

As he swam, the small shell bumped against his chest, almost keeping in time with the beating of his heart. He was so excited to see Will, and so anxious about giving him his gift. He only hoped Will would like it. Nervousness buzzed in his fingers.

Hannibal thought to himself that he was feeling more uneasy than he perhaps should have been. This realization only brought on more worry, and he hoped that nothing bad had happened to Will. If he wasn’t feeling well, or if his boat engine died, he had no way of contacting Hannibal to let him know. Hannibal began to swim faster subconsciously, trying to close the distance between him and Will as quickly as he could.

Soon, he saw the silhouette of a boat above him, outlined by the silver light of the moon that played along the waves on the surface. He sighed a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, and slowed down a bit. He did not want to arrive breathless.

However, the closer he got, the feeling of dread filled his stomach once more. He saw two shadows fighting beneath the surface, and sped up again. The beings were no longer shadows, and anger and panic spread throughout his veins. He plainly saw Bedelia holding Will’s head under the viscous surface, saw Will fighting to break free, thrashing his tied up ankle.

Hannibal was there in an instant, making it to the pair of them just as Will went limp and his eyes closed against the salt of the water. Hannibal growled, a high pitched keening, as Bedelia blocked his way to reach Will.

“Move!” Hannibal shouted. “You can’t do this to him, he’ll die!”

“Better him than you, Hannibal. I couldn’t let you keep going like this.”

“He was never going to hurt me.” Hannibal’s voice was quiet, but lit from beneath with an angry fire. Bedelia remained in front of him.

“You don’t know that. I just did exactly what his kind do to those that live below with us. He’s caught on his own line.”

Instead of answering, Hannibal bared his teeth and lashed out at her with a carefully sharpened claw. She moved, but not quickly enough. Hannibal’s fingernails pierced her in the stomach, her blood clouding up around her in the water. She fell from in front of him, reaching up, gripping the anchor line once more and attempting to pull Will down with her. Her grip was weak and she soon let go as she fell to the floor far beneath her, her hair trailing and falling over her features.

“I am so sorry.” Hannibal whispered as he made his way to Will’s body lolling in the waves made from the commotion. He worked to untangle his ankle, before giving up and slashing through the rope with his fingernails.

Gathering Will in his arms, he dragged him to the surface. He had planned to place him in the boat in an attempt to get him out of the water, to get the air he needed back in his lungs. But as he broke the surface, Hannibal saw the boat floating delicately away after he had snapped the anchor line. Hannibal’s arms trembled and his chest constricted. He knew this was not good.

Will was splayed in his arms, heavy and waterlogged, head lying limp on his neck, breath not coming out of his mouth or nose. Hannibal tried to pressing on his chest, on his stomach, but nothing happened. Shaking, breath leaving his own mouth in pants and gasps, Hannibal did the only thing he could think to and began swimming toward the shore. They had not been that far, and Hannibal got the two of them there rather quickly.

Hannibal paid no mind to the water as it began to get shallower and shallower. He thrust himself toward the sand, trying to get Will out of the cold and wet, but could not propel their bodies away from the slight spray and foam of the water as the tide rolled in. He pressed against Will’s sternum again, trying to get him to breathe again, willing him to open his eyes.

His silent prayers worked - for a moment Will’s eyes flickered open. “-’nibal…”

“Hush, hush little one.” Hannibal ran a hand across Will’s forehead, brushing his soaked curls away from his chilled skin. Will shuddered, giving in to the cold. He coughed, weakly and his eyes closed again. He reached a shaky, dripping hand and clutched onto Hannibal’s shoulder. He coughed again, roughly this time. His eyes opened wide, in shock and sheer panic as water fell from between his gray tinged lips, and no air reentered.

“Will, please _please_ breathe. Please, Will.” Hannibal half whimpered as Will’s hand fell from his shoulder and caught around the gold chain still around Hannibal’s neck. He wrapped his fingers around the small shell before his eyes slid shut one more time, all the fight gone from his limbs.

“No, _no._ ” Tears fell from Hannibal’s eyes and fell into the wetness already on Will’s chest. He reached down to fruitlessly pump at his chest again, but Hannibal knew that it was a lost cause. He did not have enough knowledge about the human body to know exactly what he was supposed to have done. He blamed himself, and his tears turned hot with renewed anger.

Hannibal gently untangled Will’s cold fingers from the shell around his neck and carefully removed the looped chain from his neck. He lifted Will’s head and placed the gift around his neck. The pink of the shell stuck out even more against Will’s ghostly pale, almost gray skin. Hannibal leaned down over Will, kissing his motionless lips once more before all of his resolve left him and he dropped his head to Will’s chest. He wrapped himself up in all of Will’s limbs as his body convulsed with sobs he could no longer hold back.

He felt his fin beginning to dry out as the sun began to peek over the horizon. The sun that reminded him so vividly of Will. His lungs heaved with each of his own labored breaths. Will was the water that he needed so desperately in his lungs.

Everyone he loved was destined to leave him in the end. It didn’t matter. He buried his face in the crook of Will’s neck once more. He might as well join them, if there was indeed anything after this hellish life.

*

“Hey, there’s something on the shore over there. Maybe we should check it out.” Brian suggested, pointing over the edge of the boat into the distance. “It could be a whale. We should try to help, or at least call the coast guard for it.”

Jack agreed and turned the boat in the direction of the shoreline. Once they got as close as they could in their slightly large boat, Jack focused his telescope on the mass sitting on the sand. “It...It looks like a body, men. I’ll call the Guard, you guys head over now and see if they need help.”

Brian and Jimmy both nodded, and made to clamber into their only lifeboat. As they got closer to the shore, Jimmy felt sympathy and fear begin to weigh his shoulders down. The sun was directly in his line of sight, casting bright rays off the water and blurring his vision a bit, but it did not look good for whoever was laying in the sand.

“I don’t think they’re moving.” Jimmy whispered.

“No, it doesn’t look they are.” Brian answered, still maneuvering the boat to the shore. As they moved even closer, the sun shifted from directly in the line of vision, making the picture before them clearer. Brian gasped audibly. “Jimmy, that looks like…”

“Oh, god.” Jimmy knew exactly who it looked like, and he was out of the boat and running into the waves, through water up to his knees.

He dropped down onto his knees on the shore when he saw that the sun was not playing tricks on him, and he was seeing exactly what he thought he was. “Will.”  

But, Jimmy realized with something akin to abject horror, he was not alone. There was another body that lay entangled with his own. It was the body of something that Jimmy had never thought he would see in his life, and something that riddled him with guilt. Face buried in Will’s neck, there was a body of a half-man, half-fish.

This must have been the merman Will had been talking about that evening. He had been real; Will had not been hallucinating. If only Jimmy had listened to what Will had said. If only he had believed, maybe he would not have been found lying dead on the shore.

Jimmy reached down and moved the merman’s body gently to the side. His body fell limp and discarded to the side. Jimmy knew there was no hope for him, not anymore. He felt for a heartbeat within Will’s chest, pushing the small sea shell that hung from his neck aside. He had no idea how long Will may have been laying there, but he had to try. He pressed his lips to Will’s mouth, trying to breathe life back into him, pumping his chest in time, but it was no good.

They were too late. He was too late.

“Jimmy?” Brian was behind him in a moment, a hand on his shoulder. Jimmy looked up with stricken eyes and clutched onto the hem of Brian’s shirt, before leaning forward and sobbing into his waist.

“They’re dead. We should have believed him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry to leave you all here like this, but that's it. This is the end. I'm sorry that I'm a monster. This somehow feels more painful than the finale... 
> 
> But anyway, thank you all so much for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I have this whole thing written and completed, but I'm not sure how many chapter it is going to end up being. I'll end up posting a new chapter every few days. 
> 
> (also this is not going to have a happy ending once we get there just a warning sorry)


End file.
